Practice golf driving device



New. 25, 1969 H. H. LOEFFLER 3,479,878

PRACTICE GOLF DRIVING DEVICE Filed Sept. 8, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 & f fQ E 10 m; 2 INVENTOR.

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BY 244 M ATTORA/EXS.

Nov. 25, 1969 H. H. LOEFFLER PRACTICE GOLF DRIVING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed Sept. 8, 1966 INVENTOR. Hume M r/1M EEQ IL BY I , L/Mu. 1:44

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent Office 3,479,878 Patented Nov. 25, 1969 3,479,878PRACTICE GOLF DRIVING DEVICE Herbert H. Ioefiier, Arlington, Mass,assignor to Pro-Tee-Uif Compan a partnership Filed Sept. 8, 1966, Ser.No. 577.981 Int. Cl. G011 5/06; A631) 69/36 US. Cl. 73-379 11 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A golf practice device which provides anindication of both the distance and direction which would have beenimparted to an actual golf ball impacted by a golf stroke applied to asimulated ball, the simulated ball being rotatably mounted from a platewhich is free to rotate in a plane transverse to the plane of rotationof the ball, the plate thus precessing to a limited degree as the ballrotates. The apparatus is also characterized by easily resettabledistance and direction indicators and by brake means which retains thedirection indicator in the position to which it has been driven untilreleased.

This inveniton relates to a practice golf driving device. Moreparticularly, this invention relates to a practice golf driving devicewhich employs two motions to indicate and record the distance anddirection a golf ball would travel if hit with the impact delivered to asimulated ball on the device.

Several types of practice golf driving devices are known in the art. Forexample, one class of known devices is the cage or net class of deviceswherein a ball is driven into a cage or net having appropriately placedtargets, or in which a ball is driven at one or more nets havingselectively placed openings for the ball. Another class of devices, andthe class to which the present invention relates, is the type whereinthe reaction caused by the impact of the golf club is monitored toindicate the distance or distance and direction a ball would havetraveled under that particular impact. An example of this latter type ofdevice is shown in the patent to Ryan 1,932,049.

Several problems have prevented this latter type of device, i.e. theimpact monitoring type of device, from being an effective andpracticable golf practice device, These problems have included theditficulty of moving the target ball with proper inertia to simulate arealistic feel of impact and to accurately monitor the impact; thedifficulty of mounting the device properly to provide accurateindications of direction; the problem of providing a simple indicatingmechanism which will not be damaged through repeated actuation withoutbeing properly reset; and the problem of providing an easily operatedand fast acting reset mechanism to reset the device for monitoring of aubsequent drive. The existence of these and other problems haveheretofore made these impact monitoring type devices impracticable andtoo expensive to be of general interest.

The present invention provides a novel practice golf driving device ofthe impact monitoring type which eliminates the problems heretoforefound in such devices, including the problems discussed above, and whichcan be economically produced so as to be of general interest to golfenthusiasts. In the present invention the proper inertia to provide arealistic feel of impact between a golf club and a ball is providedthrough the use of a unitary plastic assembly of two balls mounted atopposite ends of a shank. The assembly is rotatable in a vertical planewith respect to a plate assembly which is in turn rotatable in ahorizontal plane. A sturdy but free, accurate and repeatedly truerotating action of the plate in the horizontal plane is accomplished bymounting the plate assembly through rollers or wheels in a track in thebase of the entire device. A braking device limits the horizontalrotation of the plate assembly and also holds the final setting for areading. The rotating movement of the ball assembly drives a calibrateddisc indicator to record the distance the impact would have driven aball, but the drive to the disc is interrupted beyond a predeterminedpoint to protect against repeated actuation without resetting. Theentire device can be reset for new distance and direction readingsthrough a reset mechanism which both releases the brake and alsodisconnects the disc indicator from the ball assembly.

Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to produce a novelpractice gold driving device of the impact monitoring type.

Another object of the present invention is to produce a novel practicegolf driving device of the impact monitoring type having proper inertiacharacteristics to simulate a realistic feel of impact between thedriving club and the target ball on the device.

Still another object of the present invention is to produce a novelpractice golf driving device of the impact monitoring type to provideaccurate and repeatedly true indications of distance and direction agolf ball would have traveled under a particular impact resulting fromthe swing of a golf club.

Still another object of the present invention is to produce a novelpractice golf driving device of the impact monitoring type wherein thedistance indicating mechanism will not be damaged by repeated strikingof the practice ball without resetting the indicating mechanism.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novelpractice golf driving device of the impact monitoring type which has aneasily operated and fast acting reset mechanism.

Still another object of the present invention is to produce a novelpractice golf driving device of the impact monitoring type wherein bothdistance and direction monitors are reset through one easily operatedand fast acting reset mechanism.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdetailed description and drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the practice golf driving device of thepresent invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view of the practice golf driving device ofthe present invention taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional plan view of the practice golf driving device ofthe present invention taken along line 33 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional elevation view of the practice golf drivingdevice of the present invention taken along line 44 of FIGURE 3.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2, the external appearancecharacteristics of the golf practice driving device of the presentinvention are shown. The device has a base 10 which has a circularopening 12. A circular plate 14 is rotatably mounted in opening 12,plate 14 rotating in a substantially horizontal plane substantiallyparallel to the ground or other surface on which the device is placedfor use. A ball unit 16 has balls 18a and 18b on opposite ends of ashank member 20 (only ball 18a being visable in FIGURES 1 and 2). Ballunit 16 is rotatably mounted under plate 14 for rotation through anopening 22 in plate 14. Balls 18a and 18b are target balls simulating anactual golf ball. In the use of the device, either one of the balls 18aor 13b would extend above plate 14, and that ball would be struck with agolf club being swung by a person using the practice device to causeball unit 16 to rotate in a plane perpendicular to plate 14.

A diagonal center line 24 extends across plate 14 in the plane in whichball unit 16 rotates with respect to plate 14. Before a simulated ballhas been struck, center line 24 is aligned with a null marker 26 on base10, and center line 24 indicates the direction in which a golf ballwould travel if hit squarely by a club traveling in the direction ofline 24 as indicated by the arrows in FIG- URES 1 and 2, ball unit 16rotating counterclockwise as also indicated by the arrows in FIGURE 2..If the ball is not hit squarely by the club, so that an angled directionof flight, hook or slice would have resulted, table 14 will rotate inits horizontal plane and center line 24 will register with deviationmarkers 28 on either side of null marker 26 to indicate the direction inwhich a ball Would have traveled. The null marker 26 and deviationmarkers 28 can also be provided at the rear of the device as shown. Therotation of ball unit 16 is registered on an indicator 30 which iscalibrated to record the distance a ball would have traveled and whichis observed through an opening 32 in plate 14.

With respect to FIGURE 1, it will be observed that plate 14 is shown intwo positions. One position, shown in solid lines, is the null positionin which plate 14 would be if the device is not being operated or ifball unit 16 were squarely struck by a blow along line 24. The otherposition, shown by the dotted lines for center line 24, opening 22 andopening 32 show a rotation of plate 14 ndicating an angled drive, hookor slice.

Referring now to FIGURES 3 and 4, details of the mechanism described inFIGURES 1 and 2 are shown. Ball unit 16 is a one piece unit having shankwith balls 18a and 1812 at opposite ends of the shank. The unit is amolded plastic and is formed by cementing together two halves, each halfcomprising one half of the shank with one half of a spherical ball ateach end of the half of the shank. The two halves are cemented orultrasonically welded together along line 34 (see FIGURE 2) to form ballunit 16. Either after or prior to joining together f the two halves ofball unit 16, two rubber O-rings 36 are positioned in recesses in thebody of shank 20, the O-rings being wedged or snapped into the recessesand being securely held in the recesses. Ball unit 16 is mounted on adrive shaft 38 which passes through O-rings 36 and is engaged by theO-rings. Drive shaft 38 is carried by high impact plastic shaft bearings40 which are mounted on the underside of plate 14 by screws 42countersunk into the upper surface of plate 14. A worm gear 44 is on oneend of shaft 38. As described above, the striking of one of the balls18a or 18b with a golf club causes rotation of ball unit 16 throughopening 22. Ball unit 16 is mounted on drive shaft 38 by the engagementbetween O-rings 36 and shaft 38, and shaft 38 rotates in its bearings 40to turn worm 44.

Worm 44 is in driving communication with indicator 30 which is in theform of a disc having gear teeth 46 around most of the peripherythereof. Rotation of ball unit 16, and hence shaft 3-8, resulting fromthe impact of a golf club causes worm 44 to drive indicator 30counterclockwise through gear teeth 46 so that the distance markings onindicator 30 register with opening 32 to indicate the distance a ballwould have traveled under the impact of the blow causing the rotation. Areset mechanism is provided as described hereinafter for resettingindicator 30 to the zero position after a drive has been recorded.However, in order to prevent damage to the indicating mechanism in theevent that the ball unit is struck repeatedly without resettingindicator 30, a blank portion 48 is provided at part of the periphery ofdisc 30 beyond, for example, the 400 yard marking. Driving of indicator30 beyond the 400 yard marking will bring worm 44 into register Withblank portion 48, and th worm can then continue to turn without drivingdisc 30 any further.

Disc 30 is supported in its position in engagement with worm 44 by aspring 50 extending between a support bar 52 and indicator 30, one endof spring 50 being secured in a hole in indicator 30 and the other endof spring 50 being secured in a hole in support bar 52. Support bar 52is secured at one end to one of the bearings 40, and the other end ofsupport bar 52 is spaced from plate 14 by spacer 54 and is secured bycountersunk screw 56 and nut 58. A bushing 60 secured to support bar 52houses a shaft 62 which passes through a central opening in indicatordisc 30 and is secured to a rubber tubing or button 64. The lower end oftubing 64 forms a shoulder and is in contact with the top of anantifriction bearing 65, the bottom of bearing 65 being in contact withindicator disc 30, and the upper end of tubing 64 passes through anopening 67 in plate 14 and extends above plate 14. A lock washer 66snaps onto shaft 62 immediately below bushing 60. Bushing 60 providesvertical stability for shaft 62; and spring 50, shaft 62, lock washer66, hearing 65 and the lower shoulder of tubing 64 cooperate t positiondisc 30 for engagement with worm 44 to record the rotation of ball unit16.

After the rotation of ball unit 16 in response to a blow from a golfclub has been recorded, the mechanism should be reset to prepare theunit for the next drive. Tubing 64 and shaft 62 are part of the resetmechanism for this purpose, and it will be observed at the point ofjunction between shaft 62 and tube 64 is below the upper surface of disc16 so that the reset mechanism will not be damaged by a badly directedblow which might strike tubing 64. When it is desired to reset thedevice, a downwardly directed force is delivered to tubing 64 such as bypressing downwardly with a golf club or by stepping on tubing 64. Sincethe bottom end or shoulder of tubing 64 is in contact Wtih bearing 65which is in turn in contact with indicator disc 30, this downwardlydirected force moves indicator disc 30 downwardly against spring 50 anddisengages gear teeth 46 from worm 44. Since t e ends of spring 50 aresecured to support bar 52 and indicator disc 30, the previous rotationof indicator disc 30 would have caused spring 50 to be wound, and thewound spring is released for unwinding When gear teeth 46 are disengagedfrom worm 44. Thus, indicator disc 34 is rotated in a reverse directionto its zero yardage reading. When indicator disc 40 returns to its zeroposition, a tongue like downward extension 68 from the bottom of disc 30contacts an upwardly extending finger 70 from support bar 52 to halt thereturn rotation of indicator disc 30 and prevent oscillations or huntingabout the zero point.

As has been stated above, plate 14 is mounted for rotation in ahorizontal plane to indicate direction of drive hook or slice. Themounting of plate 14 for rotation is accomplished by suspending aplurality of wheels from plate 14. Each wheel 72 is housed on a bearing74 screwed to the underside of plate 14, and the wheels run in acircular track 76 in base 10. The use of three or more of the wheels 72provides a sturdy, free moving and accurate rotating motion therepeatability of which is not upset by a strong hard blow because therotational forces are Well distributed around the periphery of the base.

A brake mechanism 78 inhibits rotation of the plate 14 and also holdsthe setting of the plate after rotation has been completed so that theamount of rotation can be observed. The brake mechanism includes a leafspring 80 mounted by a nut 82 on screw 56 and held separated from nut 58by spring 84. A brake shoe 86 is normally held in frictional engagementwith track 76 by the spring force of spring 80, and the drag betweenbrake shoe 86 and track 76 inhibits the rotational motion of plate 14and also holds plate 14 in position after rotation has been completed.

The release of the brake mechanism 78 is accomplished by the samemechanism used for the resetting of indicator disc 30. The downwardmovement of tubing 64 and shaft 62 closes a normally small gap betweenthe end of shaft 62 and leaf spring 80 so that shaft 62 bears againstleaf spring 80 and rotates leaf spring 80 counterclockwise about itssupport on screw 56 to rock brake shoe 86 out of track 76. A returnspring (see FIGURE 3) has one end attached to base and the other endattached to the underside of plate 14, and return spring 88 is extendedby the rotational motion of plate 14. Up n the release of brake drum 86from track 76, the force in return spring 88 causes plate 14 to bereturned to its null position.

Since a golf club can deliver a powerful blow, a number of safetyfeatures, some of which have already been discussed, are present toprevent damage to the mechanism. Ball unit 16 is preferably made of atough, semirigid plastic that will bend under the strong impact of agolf club. A blow striking ball unit 16 from the side causes mountingplate 14 to rotate and evenly distribute the blow for absorption aroundbase 10. The securing of shank 20 to shaft 38 through O-rings 36 allowsa slight amount of initial slippage between ball unit 16 and shaft 38upon the initial impact of the golf club on the ball unit to absorb someof the initial impact without shock loading shaft 38. The O-ringmounting between ball unit 16 and shaft 38 also allows for easyreplacement of a ball unit by merely disengaging indicator disc fromworm 44 and pulling shaft 38 to disengage it from bearings 42 andO-rings 36. To prevent inadvertent movement of shaft 38, the shaft canbe retained in its position by 10- cating a screw through the bottom ofone or both bearings to register with a circumferential key slot inshaft 38. As previously pointed out, blank portion 48 providesprotection against repeated striking of ball unit 16 without resetting,and the reset mechanism is protected by the fact that the protrudingpart, button 64, is flexible rubber. While a preferred embodiment hasbeen shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.Accordingly, it is to be understood that this invention has beendescribed by way of illustration rather than limitation.

I claim: 1. A golf practice device comprising: a base; an aperturedplate movable in a first plane with respect to said base; first mountingmeans for mounting said plate for motion with respect to said base; aball unit, said ball unit having a shank section and a ball member ateach end of said shank section; shaft means rotatably supported fromsaid plate on the underside of said plate, said shaft means beingjuxtapositioned to a first aperture in said plate; second mounting meansfor mounting said ball unit on said shaft means and in alignment withsaid first aperture, said second mounting means permitting rotationalmotion of said ball unit in a second plane perpendicular to said motionplane of said plate, said ball members passing through said firstaperture and extending above said plate during rotation; disc meansrotatably mounted under said plate, said disc means having distanceindicia thereon and registering with a second aperture in said plate,the periphery of said disc means having gear teeth thereon and a blankportion to protect said disc means against damage from repeated impactof said ball unit by a striking force without resetting said disc means,said disc means being normally at a null position; gear means on saidshaft means and engaging said gear teeth on said disc means wherebyrotation of said ball unit in said second plane in response to astriking force impacting on a ball on said ball unit will be transmittedthrough said shaft means and said gear means to said disc means torotate said disc means commensurate with the distance a ball wouldtravel under the impact of the striking force; and means for resettingsaid disc means to said null position after impact of a striking force.2. A golf practice device as in claim 1 wherein said resetting meansincludes:

a support bar supported from said plate means;

first spring means extending between .said support bar and said discindicating means, said first spring means being wound by rotation ofsaid indicating means; and

plunger means extending from above said plate means through said platemeans to enage said disc indicating means, depression of said plungermeans disengaging said disc indicating means from said gear meanswhereby said first spring means returns said disc indicating means tosaid null position.

3. A golf practice device as in claim 2 wherein said plunger means abovesaid plate means is resilient.

4. A golf practice device as in claim 2 wherein said support means has afirst upwardly extending projection thereon and said disc means has asecond downwardly depending projection, said first and secondprojections engaging in said null position of said disc indicatingmeans.

5. A golf practice device as in claim 1 wherein said disc indicatingmeans is calibrated to indicate the distance a golf ball would travelunder the impact of said striking force, and wherein motion of saidplate unit in said first plane indicates the direction a golf ball wouldtravel under the impact of said striking force.

6. A golf practice device as in claim 1 wherein said base means includesa track thereon, and wherein said first mounting means includes rollermeans suspended from said plate means and riding in said track.

7. A golf practice device as in claim 6 wherein said brake meansincludes a friction surface normally riding in said track and includingrelease means for disengaging said friction surface from said track.

8. A golf practice device as in claim 9 including resetting means forsaid disc indicating means, and wherein said release means includesplunger means extending from above said plate means to said discindicating means and to said brake means, depression of said plungermeans actuating said resetting means and said release means.

9. A golf practice device as in claim 7 wherein said plate means isnormally in a null position, and including second spring means extendingbetween said plate means and said base means, said second spring meansreturning said plate means to said null position after motion of saidplate means upon disengaging said friction surface from said track.

10. A golf practice device as in claim 1 wherein said second mountingmeans includes O-ring means embedded in said shank section, said shaftmeans passing through and being engaged by said O-ring means.

11. A golf practice device as in claim 1 including:

brake means for inhibiting motion of said plate means in said firstplane whereby said'plate moves in said first plane commensurate with thedirection a ball would travel under the impact of said striking force ona ball on said ball unit.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1924 Caton 73379 3/1932 Ryan273-35 US. Cl. X.R.

llNl'll'll) S'IA'll'lh' IA'llflN'l' OFFICE (IEH'IIFHIA'IIC (H?CORRECTION MUM 3,479,878 Dated November 25, 1969 lnventor w Herbert H.Loeffler It is certified that error appears in the aboveidentifiedpatent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

r Claim 8, line 1, change "claim 9" to --c] aim 7-- smuzn AND SEALED JUN2 31970 SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Ir.

Au g Officer WILLIAM E. 'SOHUYLER, JR.

Commissioner of Patents

